Finding Engagement Ring in Vancouver

[valentinabear]

Hi all, I'm looking for everyone help on this. I have been trying to find a custom ring store for my engagement ring in the Vancouver area. Does anyone know any great quality places that sell at decent prices? I went to Montecristo and they are outrageous expensive and seem to focus on sales, sales, sales ... rather than customer service and funny enough QUALITY. This is the ring that I'm hoping to find: http://0.tqn.com/d/jewelry/1/0/s/4/1...ement-Ring.jpg.

Any information would be greatly appreciated. The hunt for my dream bling ring continues! Thank you!

[danger_dan]

I got my engagement ring for my lady at Spence Diamonds. They've got a wide range to select from, and the consultants were great helping me find just the right one. I actually ended up getting a custom design, based on a few of their rings there and a bit of well described design details on my part.

The consultant I worked with was great, she sat me down and went through a whole lot of 'educational' material with regards to the diamonds and processes they go through. You'll find out when you sit down with someone there. Customer Service was AMAZING! The entire process was very well received on the buyers side.

Price range is quite vast, so it's really all up to you and your budget, the Consultant was great with helping me find just the right diamond and exactly within my price range.

Hope that helps, good luck, and keep us SCrs up-to-date!

[sweet sparrow]

I love that ring and am quite partial to that design myself! Lovely choice!

I'm not familiar with the jewelery designers around Vancouver, but I have had ZERO luck in Southern Ontario on getting anything close to what I'm looking for. Three attempts later, and two from very high profile jewelers, I've learned that fixing mistakes can also be really costly.

My friend gave a picture of a popular Michael B ring to a jeweler to have it made less expensively elsewhere. As soon as I saw it (in the dark, with dimly lit streetlighting) I asked her if it was a Michael B. She was shocked. (Now you know my useless talent.) She held it up to me and I was really confused. It was a Michael B design on the head, but a Ritani design on the band. Definitely a reproduction where the metalsmith wasn't given a picture of the side view. On closer inspection though, the pave was crooked, the teensy prongs holding the pave weren't even, the sizing of the prongs on the main stone were mismatched, the stone was crooked in the setting, and it was overall pretty bad quality.

To some, that doesn't really matter because they don't pay attention to that level of detail and it's fine as long as they're okay with it. If I were to commission a piece like that, it would have to be *exact* because these projects aren't cheap and this is my one useless talent.... How picky are you on the design? Does it need to look exactly like that? Pave is a bit tricky because some rings are hand set (driving up the price) and others are cast into the mold. Most jewelers can reproduce the claw prongs decently.

There are some jewelers that have done a fine job and I've had two successful reproductions that I'm very happy with, but a mistake with a piece this important is horrible to go through.

Have you also tried on the actual Neil Lane piece? Another thing to consider is that while eternity bands are quite pretty, they can't be resized well in pave. Some jewelers will just say no. There are other designs that incorporate a sizing band in the bottom which eliminates all the pave at the very bottom of the ring, but has the same look at the top.

[valentinabear]

I'm planning not to have the eternity band around the entire ring. I'm hoping to put 6-7 diamonds on each side. Although it would be nice to have it circle around, I don't think it's necessary. Thanks for your suggestions.

[ticul]

Lovely ring and hoppe you find someone good to do it.....Good luck...

[Natalka]

Wishing you luck in finding what you are after!
Personally, I wouldn't want the diamonds all the way around the band, I think it would be uncomfortable, and I think it's kind of a waste having them on the back of the finger. My own e-ring is a modest solitaire with just shoulder stones, and I like that.

Some ideas

Oy on the price of this one, but the style is similar
http://www.peoplesjewellers.com/prod...uctId=18102316

http://www.peoplesjewellers.com/prod...uctId=18102206

Yay, a sale!

https://www.charmdiamondcentres.com/...jk-bridal-plus


-not much help, I know...

[anisa]

i would find a custom jeweller based on reputation for excellent handiwork, and not based on price.

the problem is that most jewellery is mass produced, under strict scrutiny and quality control. unless the custom shop has a very experienced person, it will be hard to match the quality by the larger mass companies.

so you are left with a dilemma. do you go all out and do the custom job? it might cost more than the one you are trying to copy, if you want it to be of similar quality, because you have someone designing a copy and then putting in a lot of hours to make that one copy 'just right'. if you want it to look the same, they will take their time and that will cost you money. the previously mentioned story of crappy workmanship isn't what you want happening, i would think.

maybe give the retailiers another try? who knows, you might find something of a similar style or feel, that you can fall in love with, and you won't have the headache and disappointment of a custom job that isn't quite right.

i have had custom jewellery made a few times, and not everything has worked out perfectly, no matter how you try. i've gone to large jewellers and smaller more established shops. there is no way to avoid a high price tag when you are looking for great quality

[anisa]

ok, i took another look at your ring

i think it might be very expensive to duplicate because of how all those little stones are set.

you need to find a couple of dozen stones all the exact same size, and then create all those little channels in the band that are the perfect fit for each and every stone.

to me it seems like it would be labour intensive, but that's just my guess.

personally i would be so afraid of messing up the stones on the bottom, that would be clinking and rubbing against everything you grab and pick up. but then i am a clutz, and mess up a lot of things.

[sweet sparrow]

Personally, I wouldn't want the diamonds all the way around the band, I think it would be uncomfortable, and I think it's kind of a waste having them on the back of the finger. My own e-ring is a modest solitaire with just shoulder stones, and I like that.

I find the eternity bands aren't any less comfortable than any other setting. If the stones are set correctly and the prongs are properly finished, it should be flush with the ring and never catch on anything. These are the wee details that make all the difference. The cost of the eternity settings is mostly in the handiwork. The actual diamonds in the tiny pave work are about $10 or less (or so I was told at the time).

As for a modest solitaire with sidestones, my mother has one and it's the blingy-est ring I've ever seen. My dad bought it for her after 35 years of marriage. At the time, they didn't have any money for simple gold bands and had to wait for those as well.

Is this close to what you're looking for? Diamonds on the band, but they don't taper upwards toward the stone, and diamonds around the basket. The only thing is that it doesn't have stones on the prongs of the basket itself.

http://www.whiteflash.com/engagement...-vatche-44.htm

This one does and it's a half shank as well:
http://www.pearlmansjewelers.com/jew...y/rings/12EE1/

[sweet sparrow]

I agree with Anisa. If you try to have it replicated, it may be cheaper but it won't have the same quality. Most mall jewelers and chains outsource to an outside benchman. To redo that ring, you would need someone experienced in micropave, which is a skill level outside and beyond the common simple stock solitaires (4 - 6 prongs, plain band).

For certain designs, it's almost always better to pay for the original. Many places in the US ship free to Canada and with many different vendors, it's fairly easy to call or email and ask for pricing, which can vary greatly from coast to coast.

I actually dealt with one that would quote same-day-pricing based on metal prices. They were surprisingly much less expensive than their list price (which is probably their worst case scenario).

[sweet sparrow]

i have had custom jewellery made a few times, and not everything has worked out perfectly, no matter how you try. i've gone to large jewellers and smaller more established shops. there is no way to avoid a high price tag when you are looking for great quality

I think we have to get together so I can see your custom work. I've had two replicated at two different jewelers. I actually took years to research prongs, settings, and the finer details of the ones I wanted. Both were much less expensive and I can go into the jewelery store and they offer to do free inspection and cleaning because they can't tell either. However, neither involved pave work.

On the stones at the bottom of eternity bands, mine seem like they've withstood me, but the vendor also said my settings are "built like a tank". They have a full guarantee as well so I can get any stones replaced should there ever be damage.

[valentinabear]

Wow, I'm learning so much from everyone! I find that the stores in the mall are all about sales and they tend to pressure you. I'm willing to drive down to the border if there's a fit.

[oscarandme]

Years ago here in Ottawa MAPPINS had some of the most innovative designs I had ever seen, I have had mine for a while and I don't know if there is a MAPPINS in Vancouver but they would make beautiful jewelry and they might be worth looking at online.

[sweet sparrow]

I find that the stores in the mall are all about sales and they tend to pressure you. I'm willing to drive down to the border if there's a fit.

I might be wrong, but looking at the design you like and the usual mall stock, I don't think you'll find what you're looking for in a typical mall. (At least I haven't seen anything like it yet.) Even the nicer family owned stores outside the mall carry the usual stock settings.

I've also had the same experience with mall salespeople as well. They're trained in sales mainly and very few of them have GIA training or similar. Their cards all say "sales consultant" and know their product only as much as they can read off the card. I mainly have a hard time with the prices they ask combined with the quality they offer.

For custom settings, make sure you find a shop that has done similar work and can show you pictures of things they've done before. Everyone and their dog will tell you they can replicate anything but if they can't show you past work (and I'm not talking about pictures in the book they keep under the counter...) there's a good chance they've never tried before. It'd be rare to get it right on their first, second, or third attempts. I've gone through this at least twice (and paid the stupidity fee) before learning the difference between sales talk and real craftmanship.

Do you know much about diamonds or the gemstone you're looking to set in the solitaire? If you'd like to take a crash course in it and knowing what it is you're paying for, this is a really great site for information:

http://goodoldgold.com/4Cs/

You can source the stone and the setting from two different vendors and more and more US vendors are offering free shipping to Canada. I don't mean to recommend cross border shopping, but they have a much wider selection than we have here, unfortunately.

[grumpy]

By chance, my mom in law was given the information for Artin, and my husband and I are incredibly happy with our rings. Great price and he was able to carry out my husband's design perfectly. Artin Jewellery in Vancouver. His last name starts with D. Great guy. My ring is princess cut with 3 small ones on each side and the wedding band is 8 small diamonds. I continue to get compliments on my rings (over 5 years now!). I highly highly recommend him.